A Clue To My Riddle Part 2
by CheeseThingy
Summary: A vision came flashing suddenly back to me; a handsome young boy with eyes...eyes of red...a hidden evil upon his haughty face...Who was that boy? Why were his eyes red? He looked so evil. Did I know him? Was he the reason why I was unable to retain my memories? Perhaps he was the clue to my lost memories?
1. Prologue

"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?"

A voice continually faded in and out of my ears as a distorted image flashed painfully before my eyes; Consciousness was refusing to go easy on me.

"Hello?" A gentle hand patted my right cheek and even though my eyes were rolling in their sockets, I managed to get a glimpse of a teenage girl with vibrant green eyes; they appeared full of concern. Blinking furiously, I forced myself to come around. The world was so bright and it stung at my eyes as I struggled onto my elbows.

"No!" The girl forced me back down, "You have just woken, give yourself time. It isn't right to be on your feet right away."

"W-where am I?" My throat felt awful as I croaked the sentence out and my body felt as if it had been put through a fiery blender as it twinged and pinged all over. What in the hell had I done to myself? This pain was almost unbearable...why wasn't I healing as quickly as I should?

"You are in Cokeworth," The girl answered as she bent questioningly down to my face, "Well you"re in the middle of a park in Cokeworth."

Gathering what energy I could, I forced myself into an upright position instantly regretting it. My body truly felt as if it had endured a lifetime of pain; raw unfathomable pain.

"You look terrible," remarked the girl taking a hold of one of my arms and lifting it for me to see the strange burn-like marks upon them, "Might I ask what happened to you?"

My brain struggled to comprehend the situation as I stared unbelieving at the marks upon my arms and when I looked down...upon my everywhere. The more I tried to think about it the less I knew about anything. It was as if this veil of fog had rested itself neatly between my memories refusing to budge. Had I been that traumatized by whatever had caused these marks?

"I-I don't remember," I mumbled through dry lips.

"What is your name then?" The girl asked again staring at me with those questioning eyes.

"Bethany M-Miller," I stuttered staring at the marks on my body once more and relieved to see that they were slowly getting lighter, "And yours?"

"Lily. Lily Evans," She continued, "Well at least you are able to remember your name," She smiled reassuringly. When I looked up at her the sun refracted off her red hair and in that moment a vision came flashing suddenly back to me; a handsome young boy with eyes...eyes of red...a hidden evil upon his haughty face...

"Bethany? Did you hear what I said?"

Suddenly I snapped out of my daydream and came crashing back into the present blinking stupidly, "S-sorry I just...I just...never mind."

"Don't strain yourself," She helped me off the ground, "Come, I will take you back to mine and see if we can get you the help you need okay?"

Nodding mechanically I found myself lingering on the fragments of what I had just seen. Who was that boy? Why were his eyes red? He looked so evil. Did I know him? Was he the reason why I was unable to retain my memories? Perhaps he was the clue to unlocking what I had forgotten?

Only in time will I know.


	2. Chapter 1

Lily led me to a quaint house on an ordinary suburban road filled with ordinary looking houses and people. She didn't appear to care when her neighbours stared questioningly at us as I limped along on her arm and neither did I for that matter. All I wanted was to sit down or lie down and rest my aching head and body. When we entered the house another girl came bounding down the stairs stopping short at the sight of us.

"What is that?" She cried out in alarm, "Toss it back out where you found it."

"Shut it Petunia," snapped Lily, "You don't need to panic. She's _normal."_

"Then you should phone an ambulance," retorted the other casually walking nearer us.

"I'll let mum and dad decide," Replied Lily guiding me into their lounge room and seating me on a squishy arm chair, "Wait here Beth, I'm going to go get my parents. Ignore Petunia. She's just going through a lot right now and taking it out on everyone."

Lily gave me a reassuring smile before bounding from the room. Petunia lurked in the doorway peeking venomously at me every now and then. It made me feel uncomfortable being the victim of such a hateful glare and after a while I couldn't take it anymore.

"What?" I asked finally, "Have you never seen an injured person before?"

The girl crinkled her nose in disgust at having been addressed, "For all I know you could be the perpetrator of a crime and faking your injuries."

"Yeah, because I can fake the wounds on my arm," sarcasm dripped off my tongue as I returned her hateful glare.

However, before she could reply Lily entered the room accompanied by her parents. They were quite nice to me and helped dress my wounds and assuring me a bed for however long I needed it and that in the morning they would call the police and find out what happened to me and where I came from.

It was difficult to find sleep in such a strange environment and I found myself tossing and turning trying every possible position to get myself comfortable enough to fall asleep. Somehow, sometime during this I had managed to get rest. It wasn't a proper rest. My sleep was filled with dreams; strange lucid dreams about a boy with handsome features. His eyes continually replayed in my mind. They were so inviting and yet every time I gazed into them a flash of red would appear behind them.

It was then my heart gave a horrid twinge of pain.

Instantly I snapped my eyes open feeling awfully sick and covered in a lather of sweat. It was still dark within the room, apart from the light of a lone lam post peeking in through the gaps of the curtain, so I knew I hadn't slept long.

For a long while I stared hard at the ceiling willing myself not to forget my dream. It had been almost real...

The next day Lily's parents had the police come around to question me on what had happened. Again, I found myself repeating what I had told Lily; I had no memory of what happened, how I came to be in the park or why. The police then took down my name and promised that they would get back to me if they found anything out about me, hoping that whatever they find my evoke my memories and shed some light on my attacker.

Luckily I was under the good grace of the Evans family. They assured me once again that I was welcome to stay with them for as long as I need to and once again I was grateful.

"You're hair is much more red than mine," Lily remarked smiling as she took me to her room.

"Yes," I replied not really knowing what to say, "I suppose we could almost pass for sisters."

"Almost," she beamed, "But your eyes are nothing like mine; too blue."

"Your sister looks nothing like you," I pointed out as we sat down on her bed.

"No Petunia gets her looks from another part of the family," It was here Lily looked downcast; her eyes void of the happiness I had witnessed mere moments before.

"Forgive me," I added hastily, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay," Lily gave a weak smile, "Petunia is jealous and bitter. She has been for a while. I just thought she would be over it by now..."

Awkwardly I pat her shoulder deciding a change of topic was in order, "I never asked your age."

"Oh," she brightened up a bit, "I am fourteen years. How about you?"

"I'm-"

I stopped short drawing a blank. Honestly, I had no idea. My mind reeled at such a revelation...how could I forget my own age? I am able to remember my own name but not my age...why? Lily saw the confusion upon my face and gently took my hand in hers squeezing it, "It's okay. We will find out about you in no time. Don't strain yourself in the meantime."

In reply to her reassurance I gave a weak smile feeling ever so disconnected with myself and with the world.

It was the next evening that the police returned and I was anxious about their findings. One officer took me alone into the lounge room and sat me down and I found myself bracing for bad news.

"Dear girl," he began, "Are you absolutely positive your name is Bethany Miller?"

"Yes..." I replied, "I think so."

He gave a deep sigh as the other officer entered the room with Lily's family.

"We have done all we can in regards to filing a report of abuse against the girl but as for mental health; that's beyond our hands," the other officer was addressing Mr. And Mrs. Evans.

Mental health? What did they mean by that?

"I'm not crazy!" I stood in rage feeling my hands clench into tight fists.

"Of course she isn't," Cried Lily coming to my defence.

The officer seated opposite me stood and gently gave my shoulder a pat, "You have been through a lot. I assure you we have done all we can. The report is filed and we will one day find your attacker. For now the Evans family has decided to take you into their care to ensure you get proper treatment."

"Treatment?" Flabbergasted I looked from the Evans to the police and back again, "What on Earth for?"

The officer then removed his cap with a face that told me he didn't want to say, "Bethany Miller is long dead. She died in 1945."

The whole room went into a thick silence. The type of silence that weighs down upon your ear drums. Dead? No! This can't be true!

"Not possible," whispered Lily, "There must be a mistake?"

The officer shook his head, "We figured you might be interested in these." He handed Lily a wad of papers, "You can keep them. That was all we found on Bethany Miller. Might save you the time of looking on your own. Goodnight and good luck."

Replacing his cap the officer left with his partner.

"Don't worry," Lily gave my shoulder a hearty squeeze, "I am sure there is more than one Bethany Miller in the country."

Looking at her I found myself comforted, "You believe me then?"

"Of course," She appeared surprised by my question, "I believe anything is possible."

"Too bad she's going to end up in the loony house," Petunia was watching from the doorframe unable to contain herself.

"Petunia!" scolded Mrs. Evans, "Don't say horrible things like that! It isn't polite! Up to your room young lady and don't come out until we say you can!"

Petunia gave me a horrid look before stomping all the way to her room and slamming the door. Lily's parents looked at one another and sighed excusing themselves from the room to per sue Petunia.

When they left I turned to Lily, "Would it be possible if I looked through the papers the police gave you?"

"Ah," Lily shuffled on her feet, "When you are settled in here. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Am I-I mean is she really dead?" I asked disbelievingly.

"It appears so," replied Lily looking sadly at me.

"Well could we at least visit the grave?" I asked feeling desperate.

"Well...the grave is in Hangleton," She looked saddened once again, "That is quite far away from us."

"Hangleton?" As the word rolled off my tongue I began to feel woozy and dizzy.

"Beth? You're going awfully pale..."

My reply got lost in a sea of blackness as I slowly drifted away from the world.

'_Where are we?'_

'_Hangleton'_

'_Why have you brought me here?'_

'_It was the only place we could be alone.'_

In the darkness the two voices echoed faintly in the distance. One of them I believed to be my own and the other sounded distinctly male.

'_I love you'_

'_I love you too'_

"Beth! Beth! Can you hear me?" The darkness was getting brighter and the normal sounds of the world began to come back as Lily's face swam into focus.

"O-oh," Carefully I sat myself up, discovering that I had been placed on the lounge, a sea of cushions beneath my head, "I just...I-I was just..."

"It's okay," Lily laid me back down, "You were mumbling and I thought you were awake."

"How long was I out?"

"No more than a few minutes," She replied dabbing my head with a wet cloth.

"Okay," I mumbled as she continued to dab my head.

"Just rest," She smiled, "I will wake you for dinner."

When she left the room I found myself gazing numbly at the ceiling. Hangleton...I felt as if I knew that place. The name was so familiar to me but I didn't know how. Had I been there before? Was I there with someone else; a boy who professed his love for me and I to him? Why does this boy, if it is the same boy, appear so frequently in my dreams?

"Urgh," I clutched at my throbbing head.

No. It's all too much. Death and love and Hangleton. My mind required sleep and recuperation and that's exactly what its going to get.


End file.
